Tags
banana, breakfast, fourth of july, pancakes, personal, recipe, whole wheat
I haven’t posted about my 4th of July experience this year so I thought I’d recap the day for you all. My boyfriend Nick came to visit this past weekend to spend the holidays with us. It was great to spend time with him and my family and just chill, enjoying the beautiful (finally) weather! Monday morning, Nick and I went down to the lake to play some tennis. It really didn’t feel like the Fourth of July until I saw all the decorations around the city, people cooking out, and red white and blue galore. Unfortunately my pro tennis skills (lol) have not survived my 2 year hiatus from competitive tennis and were no match for his legitimate pro skills. Oh well! We got our sweat on and it was a great way to start the day.
Every year, my family goes to our town parade in the afternoon. This year was no different, though we all thought the parade lacked a little in comparison to other years. We staked out our territory the evening before and by the time the parade began, hoards of people crowded the sides of main street to watch the floats, performances and maybe catch some candy. Here are a few snapshots.
After the parade, we relaxed our sun-soaked selves out on the patio and played a few rounds of Scattergories and Apples to Apples. Dinner was veggie, chicken and brat kabobs with rice and fruit salad. After dinner, we drove down to the lake to find seats for the fireworks show. Every year, the Minnesota Orchestra puts on an independence day concert before the fireworks, so we went early enough to be able to listen to the amazing music. The fireworks were great, of course, and it was awesome to be able to experience all of our family traditions with Nick there, too. I even got a freaking ah-mazing Ghirardelli Chocolate Shake (!!). Yummm.
I’m not usually a pancake person. When given the choice, I’d much rather eat some cereal, or toast, or yogurt, or eggs, or pretty much anything other than pancakes for breakfast. Yesterday, however, I was in the mood for some flapjacks. I didn’t want to use pancake mix, though, and I felt like making them from scratch. (Yay for time off and the ability to spend time making breakfast!) Here’s the delicious batter I came up with that made 2 regular and 2 larger pancakes (or, if you’re normal, probably 5 regular sized pancakes). This recipe is filling and healthy and much more satisfying than any boxed pancake mix I’ve ever tried!
Perfect Pancakes
- 2 Eggs
- 2 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
- 2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
- 4 Tbsp. coconut milk (any other milk would work, just use less)
- 1 Tbsp. unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- Cocoa nibs to sprinkle on batter
- Crack eggs into blender and blend for about 30 seconds
- Add the rest of the ingredients and blend again for 45 seconds. Let sit for a few minutes before pouring onto hot, greased pan.
- Sprinkle cocoa nibs onto batter and flip when edges are cooked and the bottom of the pancake is browned.
- Keep on a plate in a warm oven until all pancakes are done.